Of Monsters and Men
by Arztwolf
Summary: An alternate take on Jekyll and Hyde; what if Dr. Jekyll was able to separate himself completely from Mr. Hyde? What if his manservant, Poole, fell for his "bad side"?
1. Chapter 1

"Wot ya garn ter do abaht it?"

Dr. Henry Jekyll, along with his faithful manservant of two decades, Poole, had cornered the result of Dr. Jekyll's latest experiment; in attempting to separate himself from his baser urges, he'd unleashed the hellish ruffian who'd just been caught rifling through his desk drawers in search of valuables. Now the brute had the temerity to sneeringly ask Dr. Jekyll what he planned to do to stop him.

"Poole, escort this _thing _to an unused room and lock it in there."

"'a dare ya call me a, fin'!" The creature raged, his amber eyes narrowing in anger.

"Something, such as yourself, deserves no more respect than a mad dog!" With that, turned and strolled from the room.

"You heard the good man, come with me." Poole reached out to grab the creature's arm, getting clawed across the face for his troubles, the creature's long claws leaving three red lines down his cheek.

"Oh, it won't be that easy!" Poole laughed; he'd grown up on a farm as the eighth of twelve children and was more than used to being clawed, bitten, and whatever else an enraged child or animal could do. Taking the creature by complete surprise, he grabbed him by one pointy ear and started walking in the direction of the hallway, ignoring the curses and blows.


	2. Chapter 2

r. Jekyll left strict instructions for Poole and the rest of the household staff to stay away from the door; something the creature's howls and threats helped to enforce.  
"Sounds like a wolf in there, it does!" One of the maid's shuddered as she passed Poole. "All howlin' and growlin' up there."  
When dinner time came, Dr. Jekyll tasked Poole with bringing the creature its evening meal. "Make sure to never turn your back on it; there is no telling what devilish things it might do!"

Poole took his master's warning to heart as he opened the door with a tray loaded down with food and drink balanced on his arm. Setting the tray on the floor, he was about to take a step back when the creature, who'd been curled up on the bed, spoke.  
"Can't ya stay for just a lil' while? Its gettin' rather lonely in 'ere."  
"Why should I trust you not to kill me with those teeth and claws of yours?"  
"Please? I'll give you back yer watch."  
Poole's hand immediately went to the pocket of his vest. "You slimy bastard, give that back!"  
The creature reached into its trouser pocket and held the watch out.  
"When the bloody hell did you lift that!?"  
"When you brought me here."  
"Well, hand it 'ere!" He held out his hand, tensing as the creature left the bed and gently deposited it before scurrying back to the bed.  
"I'll stay for a few minutes and only if you keep yer hands to yourself! What is your name, anyway?"  
"Hyde, Edward Hyde; the bastard gave it ter me before tossin' me onta the street."  
"So, when he had me chasin' you, you'd broken back in?"  
Hyde nodded as he traced the pattern on the quilt. "'e threw me aahhht last night; I roamed 'round till I got bored and came back 'ere. The biggest mistake I ever made."  
"Can you read?"  
Hyde nodded. "I can do whatever 'e can, but not as good since I never 'ad 'is schoolin'."  
"But you was with him, literally!"  
"I was bored, wanted ter do more interestin' things." Hyde shrugged.  
Poole studied him. "How old are you? The doctor's almost 52 and you don't look anywhere near that old."  
"32, I'm loike an annoyin' younger brovwer. " He gave Poole an impish smile.  
Poole smiled back. "That is the perfect way to describe you."


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning Poole once again brought Hyde a tray of food, but this time with the addition of several books from Jekyll's library.  
"'e let ya brin' this ter me? " Hyde motioned towards the books.  
"What he don't know can't hurt 'im; besides, you must be dyin' of boredom in here!"  
Hyde instantly became suspicious. "Why ya bein' so nice?"  
Poole shrugged. "Somethin' tells me you aren't quite the monster the master says you are."  
Hyde at first looked affronted, like he took Poole's words to mean he wasn't a threat, was somehow weaker. But then it dawned on him that Poole no longer viewed him as some kind of animal, more like another person, albeit a more dangerous one.  
"Th-thank ya for the books. " Hyde had trouble keeping his eyes on Poole, missing the fact that Poole appeared to be having the same problem.


	4. Chapter 4

Poole tried to deny it, tried to excuse it as nothing more than a change in his every day, boring, routine, but it was a lie he couldn't maintain: he was feeling actual excitement whenever he brought Hyde meals and smuggled books to and from the library. Excitement like when he met a fine lady at a dance, the kind he really shouldn't be feeling towards a man who wasn't even fully human. Taking a deep breath, he started up the stairs.  
Hyde, too, was struggling with his feelings towards Poole. He knew to let it be known he felt something towards him would be beyond unwise, it would be bordering on suicidal; Poole was so much larger than him, could easily strangle or beat him to death with his bare hands; and what would Jekyll think if he ever found out that Hyde was even more monstrous then he'd known? He angrily brushed tears from his eyes as he forced himself to finish the page he was reading.

"Wot is 'e garn ter do wif me?" Hyde asked after his twelfth day imprisoned in the room. "I can't 'ive in 'ere forever; wot if 'e dies, will I be kicked aahhht onto the bleedin' street or will this room be bricked up loike in that story Mr. Poe wrote?"

Hyde's anxious questioning had started out subtle, even jokingly, but now Poole could tell he was truly scared of what would become of him. Not thinking, Poole placed his hand atop Hyde's like he'd done when one of his siblings was upset; he quickly removed his hand the minute he realized what he'd done.  
"That kinda felt nice." Hyde sheepishly confessed.  
Poole did it again, but this time gave him a gentle squeeze that Hyde returned.  
"It'll turn out well, trust me." Poole smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

"I truly haven't a clue." Dr. Jekyll absentmindedly told Poole when the latter asked about what would become of Hyde "I haven't really given it much thought."  
So saying he picked up his paper and left for his daily lunch with Gabriel Utterson.

"So, wot did 'e say?" Hyde sat up as Poole entered the room.  
"Not much of anything; I think the bastard has forgotten about you."  
"Figures." Hyde rolled his eyes as Poole sat beside him, his hand automatically covering Hyde's. They sat that way for several minutes, Poole squeezing and rubbing his hand, Hyde slowly gaining the courage to rest his head on Poole's shoulder.  
"That's a good lad," Poole whispered as Hyde closed his eyes. "I won't be forgettin' you, Eddy."  
"Why do ya care abaht me so much?" Hyde whispered, "I'm a monster."  
Poole, even with the knowledge that Hyde could savage him in the blink of an eye, placed an arm around him. "Monster you may be, but you still have some humanity left in you, I can tell."  
"How?"  
"I'm still very much alive, aren't I?"  
"Because I can't brin' myself ter ruin that 'andsome face of yours!" Hyde joked as he pushed Poole onto his back, a move that Poole made no attempt to stop, and lay down beside him.  
"How long have you been waitin' for this?"  
"Since the first time I took a good look at a toff," Hyde responded, wistfully.  
"I have to warn ya, I've never gotten the chance." Poole blushed and looked away.  
"Me neither."  
Poole looked at him in astonishment.  
"I'm not much ter look at," Hyde shrugged.  
"Can I kiss ya?"  
Hyde shyly nodded, Poole chastely kissing his cheek.  
"C-Come back tonight." The look in Hyde's eyes made the meaning of his words crystal clear.


	6. Chapter 6

Poole's heart raced as he silently walked from his room in the servants quarters, stopping every time he heard the faintest sound. As quietly as he could, he unlocked Hyde's door and slithered in.

In the pitch black room, the two embraced under the bed covers, both wearing only nightshirts. They stayed that way for several minutes, Hyde nuzzling Poole's cheek as Poole rubbed his back. Slowly they began to explore each other, gasping whenever a sensitive area was found, pulling away when it got to be too much. Once the novelty wore off, they lay holding hands, talking quietly till it was time for Poole to slink from the room with promises of returning tomorrow.


End file.
